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PUBLICATION OF ZEN CENTER VOL. XXIX, NO. I WINTER 1995 CONTENTS News and Features Devoted to the Dharma An Interview with Yvonne Rand by Barbara Wenger, p. 10 Rebuilding the Tassajara Bathhouse, p. 18 Story of Indian Bones by Gene DeSmid l, p. 20 September Priest Ordinations, p. 24 City Center Dedicates Wh eelchair Access Ram p at Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Celebration, p. 29 Books Emerging, p. 36 The Gift of Life, p. 40 Lectures Using Various Stones by Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, p. 3 Meeting in the Heart by Furyu Nancy Schroeder, p. 30 The End of Suffering: A Christmas Koan by Abbot Tenshin Reb Anderson, p. 41 IN MEMORIAM: BOB BONI Our good friend and supporter Bob Boni died unexpectedly of a heart attack last June. Bob took many powerfully expressive photographs, which he good­ heartedly shared with Zen Center, including the well-known photo of Suzuki Roshi which is on the back of Zen Mind, Beginners' Mind. His photos have often graced the cover of the Wind Bell., including one which we picked out for this month's issue in his memory. Those of us who worked with him remember Bob's warm-hearted and compas­ sionate nature and his easy generosity with his time, facilities, and photographs in helping Zen Center and Zen Center's editors and photographers. Out of his love for Suzuki Roshi and Zen practice he offered whatever resources he could to benefiting other beings without seeking recognition. Through his photographs we continue to be touched by what touched him. We extend our bow1dless gratitude to Bob, and also our kind sympathies to his widow Caterina, and to their children and grandchildren. Caterina expressed that she would welcome calls or visits from anyone at Zen Center. -1' ·. USING VARIO US STONES Shunryu Suzuki Roshi Tonight I want to give you what I feel is a correct understanding of Buddhism or Zen. In a word, Zen is the teaching or practice of seeing things as it is, 1 or accepting tirings as it is, and of raising things as they grow. This is the fundamen­ tal purpose of our practice and the meaning of Zen. But it is, actually, difficult to see things as it is. You may say you are seeing things as it is, but actually you do not see things as it is. I don't mean that it is a distortion of sight, such as when something of one shape looks shorter than something of another shape. I mean that as soon as you see something, you already start to intellectualize it. As soon as you intellectualize something, it is already not just what you saw. When I was young, I wanted to practice true practice, and I wanted to know what the way-seeking mind is in its true sense. I thought that to do something 1 Suzuki Roshi uses the term "things as it is" in the same way that Master Joshu uses the terms "mu" and "u" (non-existence and existence) to mean absolute existence before the division of seamless reality into existent and non-existent. 3 Stone steps leadingfrom Cabarga Creek to Suzuki Roshi's rock garden at Tassajara good might be the way-seeking mind, so I got up very early and washed the toilet and sink before the others got up. I thought that would be a very good thing to do. But while I was doing this, I was afraid someone would see me. I wanted to do it jusl by myself without being noticed by anyone else. "Ifsomeone sees me, that will not be pure practice:' I thought. But, before they saw me, I was already going wrong in my mind. I asked myself whether I liked doing it without being noticed by anyone, or whether I wanted it to be known by someone else. "Why am I doing something like this?" So, in a way, I couldn't accept my way-seeking mind. I was not so sure of the purity of my way-seeking mind. When I saw a lamp lit in one of the rooms, I hid myself. I thought that someone had gotten up already and might come down. It seemed as though I was at least trying to do something good with a pure mind. But my mind was no· so pure. 4 My mind was wandering about. I couldn't make my mind pure, and I was at a loss for what to do. I suffered a little bit, and I thought and thought and thought about what I should do. One day when I was listening to a psychology lecture, the teacher said, "It is impossible to catch our mind exactly. It is especially impossible to know exactly what we have done. The mind which acted some time ago, the mind which belongs to the past, is impossible to catch. And even the mind which is acting right now is impossible to catch:' So I tl1ought, "No wonder it is so difficult for me to understand my mind;' and I gave up trying to be sure of my way-seeking mind. Since then I have done things without thinking that I did them just because they were good. And, at the same time, whether or not people saw me was not my problem anymore. So when you want to see, or be sure of your mind, you should realize that you cannot catch it. But when you just do something, and your mind is acting as it is, that is how you catch your mind in the true sense. Anyway, it is rather difficult to see things as it is because seeing things as it is is not the activity of our sight or eyes. This is why we put emphasis on practice. To do something without think­ ing is the most important point in understanding ourselves. Since it is difficult to see things as it is, we should just practice our way. People may say, "If the purpose of Zen is to see things as it is, then there is no need to practice." That is the big problem. I think that in your everyday life your root practice may be to raise flowers or to grow things in your garden. That is, I tl1ink, the best practice. When you sow a seed, you have to wait for the seed to come up. And if it comes up, you have to take care of it. That is our practice. Just to sow a seed is not enough. To take care of it day after day is very important for the good gardener. When you build a house, your work is finished. If someone has written a book, that is enough. But for a gardener, it is necessary to take care of the garden every day. Even though you have finished making that garden, it is necessary to take care of it. So I think our way is nearly the same as making your own garden, or raising some vegetables or flowers. Each seed, or each plant, has its own character and its own color. Ifit is a stone garden, each stone has its own character. A long stone has a solemn, profound feeling; a round one expresses perfection; a square one expresses some rigidness or feeling of austerity. Ifit has moss on it, it has some deep, profound, mystical spirit to it. Those are tl1e individual characteristics of each thing you use in your garden. People may say, "Whatever we do, that is zen;' or "I am seeing things as it is." They usually see things one by one, but that is not enough. You may say you see things as it is, but you are just seeing each object and each object's characteristics. 5 It is necessary for a gardener to make his garden beautiful If possible, the gardener should express some meaning, or some particular beauty, according to some order. Ifso meone wants the gardener to build a calm garden, the gardener must make the garden accordingly. Ifhe wants a solemn or austere feeling, the gardener makes the garden austere. The gardener has to choose the material and make it austere by contrast, or by association, or by harmony. If there is a sharp, straight, narrow stone, it expresses some mystical feeling. If the stone is this way [making a shape with his hands], it expresses calmness or peacefulness. And these two shapes are in contrast. But a round stone \Vill be harmonious with every other stone. It goes perfectly with any kind of form. A stone which has a wide base expresses a stable feeling. This stone is in contrast with a massive stone, and a long, upright stone and a massive stone are in order. You cannot make a beautiful garden if you just arrange the stones in order. So you should use some stones which are in contrast with the stones you're using. The way to create harmony is to have some rules. We may have many colors, and they may be in harmony or contrast. If you arrange the six colors in order, starting from red, and going to orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet, that is the color order. If you use red and yellow together, that is harmony. And ifyo u use red and green, that is contrast. By following those rules, you will accomplish your purpose, and you will have a beautiful garden. So just living however you like is not the way. If you want to live the way, you should follow some rules.
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